NEWS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
A changing demographic
By BILL BRADSHAW and
ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
Editor’s Note
This is the fourth in a
fi ve-part series by EO Media
Group looking at the issue of
the lack of workers for jobs
in Central and Eastern Ore-
gon — why workers are not
returning to previously held
jobs and how businesses are
pivoting to function without
being fully staff ed.
WALLOWA COUNTY
— It’s no secret that
employers across the state
are struggling to fi nd work-
ers. Business owners col-
lectively furrow their brow
at the trickle of job applica-
tions as more and more busi-
nesses open and the share of
workers seems to be vanish-
ing into thin air.
For some, that means
closing restaurants entirely
— but far more often
the eff ects of a tighten-
ing labor market mean that
expansion of operations
becomes diffi cult.
“It’s pretty much across
all industries,” said Stacy
Beckman, general manager
of Wallowa County Grain
Growers in Enterprise.
“Managers I’ve talked to are
having diffi culty trying to
get help.”
He said the business he
runs didn’t actually lose any
workers to the pandemic,
but expanding his workforce
has been a challenge.
“Trying to add (workers)
is tough,” he said. “It’s even
tougher in a smaller commu-
nity like we are.”
Cindy Ellis, who owns
and
operates
Heaven-
ly’s Restaurant in Enter-
prise, switched to takeout
only when the pandemic
fi rst struck, but was able to
resume indoor seating as
businesses were allowed to
reopen. But then reliable
employees became scarce.
“We had to cut our indoor
seating because someone we
hired didn’t show,” she said.
Ellis said Heavenly’s
Restaurant was open for
indoor seating when inter-
viewed Thursday, Sept. 16.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
A customer prepares to enter Wallowa County Grain Growers/True Value in Enterprise on Sept.
15, 2021. A lack of employees has not hurt the business, the manager said, but it is having a
diffi culty expanding its workforce.
A “now hiring” sign greets customers coming into Heavenly’s
Restaurant in Enterprise. The restaurant has had a tough time
getting and keeping employees, co-owner Cindy Ellis said.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Cindy Ellis, co-owner of Heavenly’s Restaurant in Enterprise, greets customers through the
takeout window Sept. 15, 2021. At times, takeout has been the only way Heavenly’s Restaurant
could serve, partially due to the lack of employees to man the inside seating.
“We got a lot of folks
from Elgin,” she said, and
despite a small workforce,
“we were swamped.”
Boomers retiring at a
faster rate
Eastern Oregon saw only
negligible gains in popula-
tion over the the past decade,
according to U.S. Census
Bureau data. And looming
within the numbers is a cer-
tainty that has taken the back
seat to pandemic woes and
commentary: The boomers
are retiring.
In Eastern Oregon, the
working population is aging
out much quicker than in
previous years. The Oregon
Employment
Department
reported in May 2021 that
the working population in
Eastern Oregon had grown
signifi cantly older from 2010
to 2020. That increased share
means the number of work-
ers age 55 and over makes
up 26% of the overall work-
force. That’s up nearly 4%
from its 2010 numbers.
As well, the population
of older workers has started
declining since 2017, when
it reached its peak, according
to U.S. Census Bureau data.
The rate at which the
baby boomer generation has
been retiring is accelerating,
according to Pew Research
Center. From 2019 to 2020,
approximately 28.6 million
baby boomers — those born
between 1946 and 1964 —
retired; a 3.2 million uptick
from 2019. On average, that
number had previously been
increasing by around two
million retirees per year.
The impact
“One of the other factors
is that boomers are retiring
at an enormous rate, which
is, in a way, sucking every-
body up the the corporate
ladder or corporate world,”
said Matt Scarfo, a Union
County commissioner and
owner of Long Branch and
Benchwarmer’s Pub & Grill
in La Grande. “Everyone’s
getting the bump up to those
higher positions, if they did
have them, and so it’s caus-
ing a vacuum down to the X,
Y, Z generation.”
On the ground, restau-
rants and service industries
reported having to hire much
younger staff than in nor-
mal years, though the restau-
rant industry has historically
been staff ed by younger
workers and those looking
for part-time work, and the
data from the U.S. Census
Bureau and Oregon Employ-
ment Department indicate
there hasn’t been any signif-
icant changes in the employ-
ment level for those under
the age of 18.
Angelica Zurita, who
with her husband, Jose
Lopez, owns the La Laguna
Family Mexican Restaurants
in Enterprise and Joseph
and the Rusty Spur Saloon
in Joseph, said they employ
about 15 people at the three
establishments.
During the summer tour-
ist season, they were fortu-
nate to fi nd college students
who were eager to work. But
now, as the students return to
campus, fi nding reliable help
is a problem.
“They really don’t want a
job,” Zurita said of some of
A customer enjoys the outside seating Sept. 15, 2021, at
La Laguna Family Mexican Restaurant in Enterprise. The
restaurant, along with a similar one in Joseph and the Rusty
Spur Saloon in Joseph, got by through the summer largely
with college students as employees.
the locals who have applied.
“They show up drunk, call in
sick, don’t show up at all or
they show up late.”
Still, as the tourist sea-
son ends, she’s optimistic the
restaurants and saloon will
manage.
“It’s slowing down to
where I think we’ve got it
covered,” she said.
The trades, too, are hav-
ing a tough time fi nding
workers. Jared Hillock, man-
ager and co-owner of Hill-
ock Electric, said the biggest
problem is a lack of qualifi ed
electricians around.
“There are just not
enough people in the trades
right now,” he said. “I think
it’s important we get kids
in trades and not preach so
much college.”
He said a starting electri-
cian right out of high school
— after a four-year appren-
ticeship — can make $32 an
hour, with benefi ts.
“We’re trying to push
more kids (to) think about
trades,” he said. “You can
make a good family wage
right out of high school.”
He does have an opening
for a counter person, which
he’s not gotten many ade-
quate applications for.
“We get a lot of ran-
dom resumes dropped off ,
which (I) guess is people
trying (to) satisfy job-search
requirements,” Hillock said.
Renaissance
Design,
Fabrication & Powder
Coating opened in May
in Joseph, has had numer-
ous
well-paying
posi-
tions available but that still
are not fi lled, owner Rick
LaFave said.
“I’m still trying to hire
three or four more welders,”
LaFave said. “People don’t
want to work, I guess. …
I’ve talked to several people
who’ve put feelers out, but
I’m not getting people who
want to go to work.”
Though he doesn’t have
concrete evidence, he has
his opinion on the cause.
“My opinion is because
the (unemployment) money
hasn’t run out,” he said.
“Hopefully, we’ll get people
wanting to go back to work
once that runs out.”
Hermiston City Council OK new lease at airport
By PHIL WRIGHT
Hermiston Herald
The Hermiston City
Council at its meeting Mon-
day night, Sept. 27, voted
7-0 in favor of a new 20-year
ground lease at the Hermis-
ton Municipal Airport.
K2 Aerial Application
LLC has been operating
from the airport for at least
fi ve years and is looking
to build a hangar covering
8,352 square feet. City Man-
ager Byron Smith explained
to the council the lease facil-
itates that project.
Under the terms of the
lease, according to meeting
documents, the city receives
$1,420 per year through
2028 for the ground the han-
gar will stand on, and the
rent increases to $1,587 per
year for 2035-38. The total
for the 20 years comes to
$29,482.
Smith told the council the
length and price per square
foot of the lease are consis-
tent with other ground leases
at the airport.
Smith also gave an update
on fi lling the key city depart-
ment heads. He said the city
has received 10 applications
for the parks and recreation
director and court admin-
istrator. The closing date
for applications looks to
be the end of the week, but
that could extend 15 days
beyond to allow for more
candidates.
At last count, Smith said,
the city received four appli-
cants for the court adminis-
trator and 10 for the parks
director.
The council also brought
in cupcakes to celebrate the
retirement of Gary Luisi as
city attorney. His succes-
sor, Richard Tovey, starts
this week.
There were some sparks
early in the meeting, when
the council took in a pre-
sentation on the Restaurant
Assistance Program, a part-
nership between the city and
the Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce, to encourage
dining at local restaurants.
The city early in 2021
gave the chamber $50,000
for an assistance program
to benefi t local restaurants
struggling because of the
pandemic. The chamber cre-
ated three programs: Dining
Dollars, in which restaurants
honor a $10 gift certifi -
cate and submit that to the
chamber of reimbursement;
a direct $10 gift certifi cate
diners can use at a restau-
rant; and a third option in
which chamber directors use
$10 in cash to cover a din-
er’s meal at an event.
Chamber President Kris
Bennett walked the coun-
cil through the details of the
programs, including exam-
ples of the coupons and
gift cards and English and
Spanish promotional fl yers.
Some of the Spanish lan-
guage drew criticism from
Councilor Roy Barron.
“Some of the wording
… It’s wrong,” Barron told
Bennett, “and it might con-
vey a swear word.”
Bennett defended the
wording, explaining the
chamber relied on the work
of a certifi ed Spanish trans-
lator. But Barron suggested
the chamber needs to take a
second look at some of the
language.
Bennett replied the cham-
ber will “run it by” the trans-
lator, and if Barron wanted
he could come to the cham-
ber to go through the word-
ing with him.
“That’s kind of what I‘m
doing now,” Barron replied.
Mayor Dave Droztmann
moved on, and said he was
excited for the program and
hoped the community recog-
nizes the importance of sup-
porting local businesses.
Barron then came back
to his point with a sugges-
tion for the language he
found problematic. Ben-
nett said he was welcome
to give those to the chamber
offi ce. And Councilor Phil-
lip Spicerkuhn, who serves
on the chamber board, said
he would take Barron’s sug-
gestions to the chamber.
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